(11-23-2017 06:53 AM)82hawk Wrote:  I care. I care a lot. Keatts provided a winning template for UNCW and is proving it is a winning template at NCSU. Only the second regular season win over a top 10 OOC team in the history of NCSU basketball.

Keatts dictates how a game will be played and his players buy in. He has practically the exact same roster that was mediocre last year and just took out the #2 ranked team in the nation. Overachieving same as he did with UNCW his first year here.

I hope McGrath keeps UNCW as a CAA leading squad. Losing a recruiting class along with transfers was a huge blow, but the cupboard isn't bare. I do not expect the same level of success this year because of that. I also hope McGrath realizes he has a roster full of players who know the Keatts system, and that he at least considers implementing the style of press used by Keatts. Roy had a style that worked with the best players in the country available. UNCW isn't Kansas or UNC, we don't have that luxury. And, we don't have the stable of big men this year to play that style.

But, having seen the style of play Keatts brought to UNCW with great success, I hope it isn't forgotten should we find ourselves searching for another coach in the future. There will be a Keatts "coaching tree" as well as the Pitino coaching tree in that event. And I would hope we have a good memory and realize that style allows for success even if we don't have a roster of four and five star players.

THAT is the reason to "care" and at least follow the success of NC State right now. Honestly, I'm hoping we go 10+ years before we are searching for a coach again though. Due to our standing in the Mid-Majors though, it's far more likely that our coaching door swings with the winds. If we have great success, our coach gets poached. If we lose constantly again like last decade, we are left in that nasty coaching carousel that no program wants to be in. Getting back to the point though, 82's last statement there is WHY we need to follow and root for Keatt's success, as painful right now as it may be. That pain will eventually subside, and the benefits far out-weigh the negatives in terms of UNCW keeping a positive working relationship with Keatts, so as to tap into that coaching tree eventually. It was a system that worked immediately, and even better... consistently. He's proving it now on the bigger stage.

Root for our success NOW, but always keep an ear to the ground and be ready. If it's one thing we've learned as Seahawk fans is that change happens, and it happens fast. Always be prepared and don't be caught with your pants around your ankles. Maintain the program's success with heads on a swivel and situational awareness at all times.